Freethought & Rationalism Archive

RBH · 09-01-2002, 06:36 PM

scigirl wrote

Quote:

I want to make a quick clarification about the word "prediction."

This word has a different connotation in everyday usage. A person who makes predictions is strictly talking about future events occuring.

However, in science, you can make predictions about the past, present, or future!

When I was professoring for a living I used to say that science predicts the outcomes of observations, not necessarily the future. That seemed to get across even to intro-level freshmen in 8:00 a.m. classes.
RBH

[ September 01, 2002: Message edited by: RBH ]</p>

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